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314 – Bomb-dropping
「How far into the explanation had I gotten to? Ermm.」
Vampire girl puts a finger to her chin, and began to ponder away like that. Yep. Actually, I hadn’t been listening to a thing she had been saying recently! With the sense of ignoring a long speech by a school principal, it was all going in one ear and out the other for sure.
「Well, it’s fine.」
It ain’t fine!
「Regarding the current situation of the world, let’s skip over it. To be blunt, if I spoke about stuff like the world being close to collapse it would just be a bother for you, right? After all, even if you heard about it it’s not like you’d actually be able to do anything. It’d just be a waste of time to hear about it. If you really want to know the details then ask later individually.」
Oi, that’s damn blunt. Well, what she’s saying is basically correct though. The majority of the reincarnators are ordinary people without any combat ability for a start. Even if that bunch of normies were told to stop the collapse of the world, they wouldn’t be able to do anything. Unlike a group of commoners in a certain movie, they’re not able to do something like fly out into space to drill holes in a giant meteorite that was about to come crashing down.
「First of all, this planet will not collapse during your lifetimes. So it’s a waste of time to worry about it. Rather than worry about something that’ll happen after you die, surely you should be worrying about what will happen to you next?」
Vampire girl gazes over the reincarnators. Since she had remorselessly knocked down Yamada-kun and Ooshima-kun just earlier, there’s nobody who replies to vampire girl who seems to be looking for confirmation. However, several reincarnators respond to her attitude and nodded to confirm vampire girl’s words. They’re looking at vampire girl and nodding with serious expressions.
「As was said earlier, this elf village has fallen into our hands. So please think of your treatment as being like that of prisoners of war. However, it’s not like you’re actually enemy soldiers or something so you won’t be treated roughly. So long as you have good listening comprehension at least.」
I don’t think it was just my imagination that several reincarnators gulped audibly. Figures, huh? While she said that they won’t be treated roughly, she had just earlier knocked down Yamada-kun and Ooshima-kun. So as soon as the words had left her mouth they weren’t credible. I think it’s inevitable that her words would be interpreted as saying that unless you’re submissive you’ll be knocked down arbitrarily. Or rather, perhaps that’s her intention? Hmmm. I dunno if vampire girl is thinking about it that deeply or not though. I get the feeling that she’s simply saying whatever comes to mind without thinking about it. This is vampire girl we’re talking about after all.
「So, with regards to your immediate future, for the time being we intend to do what we can to accommodate your requests. If you seek asylum then we’ll take care of you, if you want to leave then just go ahead and do it. If you wish to remain here then feel free to do so. Well, we have killed all the elves for a start, and the barrier is gone as well, so I can’t really recommend staying here though.」
Yes, bombs away! A murmur rises up around the room. Probably, if not for vampire girl’s warning beforehand not to make a fuss, there’d be angry roars flying about now I guess? Or rather, vampire girl’s deterrent is effective enough that I’m actually impressed.
The common reaction of the reincarnators on hearing the fact that the elves had been annihilated was… confusion. Well, if you’d just heard that the people you had been living with and interacting with until yesterday had suddenly all been killed then I guess you would be confused as well. Based on what we had been saying since earlier, I’m sure they understood that the elves had fought with us and lost. However, I’m sure they hadn’t imagined that meant that the elves had been annihilated. At any rate, the majority of the reincarnators have no experience of war and combat, and have been living here like an extension of being in peaceful Japan. In return, the shock is all the larger. Amongst the reincarnators, some went pale, and some tried to laugh it off but failed.
「Hey.」
Perhaps he couldn’t bear to see the state of chaos, as oni-kun pulled on vampire girl’s arm.
「What is it?」
「Now’s not the time to talk about this, surely?」
「If not now then when? If you mean to conceal it then they’ll still find out about it sooner or later, so isn’t it better to tell them sooner?」
Vampire girl tears away her arm from oni-kun’s grip. He pulls his arm back without being able to offer a rebuttal. Uh huh. Certainly, while the reincarnators might be all confused now, it is still something that they would need to be told in due course. While this might be a big shock to all the reincarnators, it’s also not a good idea for us to spend forever dithering over it and keep saying nothing either. As vampire girl said, saying it right now from the start might be for the best.
「So it’s true, then……」
Due to the exchange between vampire girl and oni-kun, it seems that they understand that vampire girl’s previous statement was not a lie or anything of the sort. Leading to what Yamada-kun had muttered in a soft voice.
「That’s right. Oh, and don’t speak any further okay? I have no desire to listen to your opinion after all. Even if you have something you want to say I have no intention of listening. If you want me to listen even still then go ahead and use force to silence me and make me listen. I bet you can’t though.」
Scathing! Merciless! This is just cruel! Yamada-kun is gritting his teeth and seems to be about to cry you know! I think you could have used a slightly more indirect expression for that.
「Don’t whine on and on about something that’s over already. You’d be nothing more than a sissy. If you have a problem then you should have simply stopped it. I wish you wouldn’t turn a blind eye to your pathetic inability to achieve things yourself and then make a racket later.」
Scathing! Merciless! This is just cruel! Far from using an indirect expression she’s gone with the style of wanting to rub salt into his wounds! Yamada-kun is clenching his fist and trembling you know! How pitiful.
「At any rate, no matter the process the elves have been destroyed. That’s all you need to know. Also, what you should be concerned about is only what kind of livelihood you want afterwards. As for what occured here with one thing or another, or responsibilities, or what about justice or the like, I just don’t give a damn about that. Go ahead and discuss that between yourselves.」
After dismissing him as nonsense, vampire girl turns away from Yamada-kun. As if to say that he’s not even worth looking at.
「There will no longer be any aid given in this village. On top of that, since the barrier protecting this village is also gone, monsters will be able to enter as much as they want. With this place becoming a wasteland, if there is someone who’s attachment to this place is laudable enough that they want to stay anyway, then I will respect that wish. Do you want to stay?」
At vampire girl’s words, several of the reincarnators shook their heads from side to side. Well, that’s fair enough.
「If you mean that you don’t want to stay then we shall properly escort you outside of the village, or rather outside of the forest. After that we’ll then listen to your individual requests okay, as I had said earlier. We will try to accommodate your requests as much as possible. Of course, that’s only within the range of what we are able to provide.」
Indeed. I think we can more or less guarantee a minimum livelihood. I’ll knock them down if they ask to be able to idle away in a stately mansion though. I think we’ll be able to grant their requests so long as they don’t make any unreasonable demands. By borrowing the power of the Divine Word Religion it surely wouldn’t be difficult.
「Ah, that’s right. If you want to go back, you could just go back to Earth you know?」
Hm? Huh?
「We can go back!?」
Kudou-san, who had been patiently avoiding speaking until now, seemed to have stood up and yelled that without thinking.
「It’s possible, right?」
Vampire girl turns around to look at me to get confirmation. Eh? Umm. It’s not possible though?
I want to say that, but the gazes of the reincarnators full of expectation pierce into me at full strength. Vampire girl-l-l! Don’t drop unnecessary bombs!